Court Hands Down Death Sentence to Three Hijackers

Published June 28th, 2001 - 03:00 GMT

A revolutionary court in Tehran has sentenced three Iranian hijackers to death for attempting to redirect a domestic airliner to the US in November 20

A revolutionary court in Tehran has sentenced three Iranian hijackers to death for attempting to redirect a domestic airliner to the US in November 2000, and handed down prison terms of up to 10 years to 15 of their accomplices, a local daily reported Thursday, cited by the Iranian official news agency (IRNA).

It quoted the head of the Tehran Revolutionary Court, Ali Mobasheri, as saying the sentences were handed down by Branch 20 of the revolutionary court.

No names were given, but the principal accused following the incident in November 2000 was named as Khaled Pardani.

The accused, mostly members of a single family, were indicted for the crime of the attempted hijacking of a Russian-chartered airplane that was en route to Bandar Abbas in the Arabian Gulf from the southern city of Ahwaz at the time their plot was foiled.

The hijackers were thwarted in their plans when their demands were not heeded by the plane's security crew, and the pilot later succeeded in landing the plane safely in Bandar Abbas in spite of their threats.

AFP said that the hijackers, who were said to be carrying firearms and knives, were tried in Bandar Abbas but sentenced in Tehran. They said they wanted to go to the United States for "economic reasons" because they had no money, rather than for political motives – Albawaba.com